Wave7 Optics Inc., a leading supplier of fiber-to-the-home and -premises (FTTH/FTTP) broadband network equipment for residential and business services, and Jackson Energy Authority (JEA) of Jackson, Tennessee, announced the 10,000th connection in JEA's rapidly growing FTTP network, which provides triple-play services under the "EPlus Broadband" brand name. The companies made the announcement here at the FTTH Conference, where Wave7 Optics are exhibiting their new Trident7 universal PON platform and industry-leading Last Mile Link system thru October 6th in booth 624.

After announcing the contract in October 2003, the two companies began network construction in early 2004 and JEA connected its first customers in May 2004 - meaning that JEA reached its goal of 10,000 customers in only 16 months. JEA continues to expand the network in the town of Jackson and throughout surrounding areas in Madison County and expects to pass more than 35,000 homes in the greater Jackson area sometime in 2007.

"We were one of the first utilities or municipalities in the U.S. to undertake such a project and we are proud of our pioneering role," said Kim Kersey, SVP of Telecommunications for JEA. "The network is meeting the expectations we had for it in terms of customer interest and satisfaction, our business plan and as a boost for economic development in the region."

Current residential services feature 270 all-digital channels of cable television, including 12 HDTV channels, up to four "VoIP" telephone lines and symmetrical high-speed data bandwidth rates ranging from 512 kbps to 100 Mbps per customer.

"We've found that a leading factor of our success has been our video offerings and Wave7's expertise in all aspects of video propagation and transmission, whether traditional RF or IPTV, has helped differentiate us from the incumbent cable MSO, satisfy our customers and achieve our business goals," continued Kersey.

"JEA has been a showcase for the FTTP industry and we're pleased to have played a leading role in it," said Tom Tighe, CEO of Wave7 Optics. "We're excited about JEA's future and are continuing to introduce new products and features to meet their service requirements."

JEA was honored recently with the Broadband Properties Magazine Cornerstone Award - for the "Best FTTP Public Utility Network" -- presented at the annual Broadband Properties Summit, held in Dallas and co-sponsored by FOCUS (Fiber Optic Communities of the United States).